Comedian-actor Vir Das on Tuesday said Air India didn't provide a wheelchair for his wife, recovering from a fractured foot, despite it being pre-booked on the airline's Pranaam service.
In response, a spokesperson of the Tata-owned carrier admitted that the comedian's experience fell "short of expectations" and noted that there was a delay, not a denial, in providing the wheelchair to his wife, Shivani Mathur.
Das criticised the airline in a long post on X, saying he paid Rs 50,000 each for two seats in the Air India flight from Mumbai to Delhi on Monday evening but faced multiple issues during the journey.
"Dear @airindia, Please reclaim your wheelchair. I'm a lifetime loyalist. I believe you've got the nicest cabin crew in the sky, this post pains me to write.
"My wife and I book Pranaam and a wheelchair because she's got a foot fracture that's still healing. We're flying to delhi. 50grand a seat. Broken table, broken leg rests, her seat is stuck reclined, won't straighten fully. Were told the flight is 'newly refurbished'," he began the post.
Das said the flight was delayed by two hours and when it landed, they were asked to get down using a stepladder.
"Again wheelchair and encalm pre-booked. I ask the air hostesses at the front of the plane to assist my wife while I carry four bags. Silence and a clueless look at each other. We step off the plane to the top of the ladder. I ask an air India male ground staff member to help us, looks at me, shrugs, and ignores me.
"My wife with a fracture makes it down the stepladder. I tell an Air India staff member at the bottom near the buses what happened. He says 'sir kya KareinÂ…sorry'," he said.
In the post, Das also said that they faced difficulty in getting a wheelchair even at the terminal.
"Encalm people inform wheelchair staff that we had pre booked a chair. He's clueless. There's wheelchairs everywhere. No staff because the flight is late. I grab a chair and wheel her to baggage claim, then out of the airport to the parking. Encalm lets Air India know this is happening.
"No one shows. Anyway. One of your wheelchairs is on the second floor of the parking in Delhi. Do claim it. Cheers," he ended the post.
The actor's post received a reply from the official handle of Air India.
"Dear Mr. Das, we understand and empathize with the experience. Please share us the booking details via DM for us to look into this on priority," Air India posted.
Hours after Das' post, the airline released a statement, saying that they have taken note of the matter with concern.
"We empathise with the guests, especially given the mobility concern involved, and recognize that this experience fell short of expectations. The operating cabin crew offered to assist the guest, including deplaning by using the 'ambulift' assigned to the aircraft as per SOP, but the delay not denial in providing wheelchair assistance was due to unusually high demand for wheelchairs and staff at that time.
"Air India remains committed to improving the end-to-end travel experience for all its guests," the Air India spokesperson said.
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